Essex Record Office Presents: The 381st Bomb Group USAFF

In February 1942, a reconnaissance party of United States Army Air Forces officers arrived in England. Firmly wedded to the doctrine of daylight precision bombing, they believed they could help turn the tide of the war in Europe. In the months that followed, they formed the Eighth Air Force - an organization that grew at an astonishing rate. To accommodate it, almost seventy airfields were hastily built across the eastern counties of England.

At the heart of the Eighth Air Force were its bombardment groups, each equipped with scores of heavily armed, four-engine bombers. These Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators were soon punching through the enemy's defences to bomb targets vital to its war effort. They were crewed by thousands of young American airmen, most of whom were volunteers.

This book tells the story of just one "Bomb Group" - the 381st, which crossed the Atlantic in May 1943. Arriving at RAF Ridgewell on the Essex-Suffolk border, its airmen quickly found themselves thrown into the hazardous and attritional air battle raging in the skies over Europe.

Bomb Group follows the 381st's path from its formation in the Texan desert, to its 297th and final bombing mission deep into the heart of Hitler's Third Reich. It is the remarkable story of one group and the part it played in the strategic bombing campaign of "The Mighty Eighth."

Mike had a full and eventful career spanning 34 years. During his time in the Army Air Corps, he served as a Soldier and as an Officer in both aircrew and groundcrew roles. He deployed on Operational tours in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Gulf War 1, Bosnia, Kosovo, Gulf War 2 and Afghanistan. It is this extensive operational experience that informs Mike’s writing and his interpretation of past battlefields.

Throughout his time in the military Mike led groups of fellow soldiers on Battlefield Studies all over Europe. Since leaving the Army in 2013 he has continued to lead tours, serving over 10 years as the Chair of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides. Mike regularly works for the US National WWII Museum and leads their Masters of the Air Tour. He has recently worked alongside Donald L. Miller on the museum’s flagship tour of the East Anglian wartime bomber airfields. He is a published Author and an active podcaster.

Mike has published books on British Airborne operations in Sicily and the Arnhem landings, he has also co-written the Official Operational History of the Army Air Corps. Linked to today’s subject, Mike was privileged to work alongside fellow historian and author, Pail Bingley to co-write Bomb Group – the history of the 381st BG (H) and co-hosts The Mighty Eighth Podcast (@Mighty8thPodcast).

Copies of Bomb Group by Paul Bingley & Mike Peters will be on sale after today’s presentation.